Experts are providing animal care in flooded disaster areas of Texas

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More than 100 human lives have reportedly been claimed by the flash flooding disaster in Texas that occurred in the early hours of July 4, 2025, along the Guadalupe River. While rescue and recovery efforts continue, veterinary health and animal care professionals are working to assist animals and support their families.

Flooding can be caused by thunderstorms with little to no warning. According to the Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC), animals may be displaced and need temporary shelter, feeding, and medical care when there is an event that results in catastrophic loss of life and property, environmental damage, and financial constraints.¹ 

Deploying an emergency response team

On the evening of July 4, 2025, the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) deployed 6 members and 2 Texas A&M AgriLife Disaster Assessment & Recovery agents to Kerr County in support of Texas A&M Task Forces and other regional partners, according to a university news report. Three additional VET members later joined the team, as it works to provide veterinary care for canine search teams.²

“Our hearts are with the families, loved ones, and communities affected by this tragedy,” Deb Zoran, DVM, PhD, MS, director of the VET, said in a university report.² “This has been a particularly solemn mission; while all loss of life is tremendously sad, the loss of young children hits particularly hard for the entire community and state. We know Aggies everywhere are keeping the folks in this region, and in other flood-ravaged areas of Texas, in their thoughts and prayers.”

According to Texas A&M, local veterinary partners and community animal groups are handling residential animal care and reunification needs, while the VET is focused solely on caring for working dogs. “The community and our state partners are very supportive, and our team is staying strong during these challenging days,” Zoran said in the report.²

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The VET canine search teams have faced many challenges working along the Guadalupe River basin, including rough terrain, risks of snake bites and injury from debris, and continuing flash flood risks as well as long days searching over miles of terrain. However, working dogs play a vital role in searching for individuals who are still missing.²

“These elite canine partners are critical to the mission, and our team is committed to helping them stay healthy, safe, and mission-ready,” Zoran said in the report.² “We are honored to do our part in supporting these heroes, and we’re hopeful that the search missions will be able to help grieving families find closure.”

Assisting disaster survivors

Many animal care organizations responding to the flooding disaster in Texas have been identified in local and national media outlets. They include animal rescue groups, veterinary clinics, and welfare organizations. The following are some examples:

• Austin Pets Alive! is a nonprofit shelter that has received more than 300 animals displaced by flooding.³ The organization has a team in Kerrville, Texas, a heavily affected community, that is assisting local shelters in distress, providing medical care to affected animals and distributing supplies to human individuals, coordinating search and rescue efforts for animals, and working on the reunification of pets with their families.⁴ “We’ve been deploying [volunteers] all over the state to try to find any signs of life of pets and be able to make that connection back to owners, which is really important because people that have lost everything, their pets are maybe the last thing they’ve got” Ellen Jefferson, president and CEO, said in a live video on Facebook.³
• Wings of Rescue is a nonprofit organization that “flies pets from at-risk shelters and disaster areas to safe havens,” according to its’ Facebook page. Volunteers with the group are in Kerrville and other affected communities, assisting rescue and relief efforts in affected areas. Working in partnership with CUDDLEY, a fundraising and wish list platform, Wings of Rescue flew “several tons of critical supplies to the hardest-hit areas” on July 8, 2025. The organization also planned to flew pets being housed in affected shelters to Utah, rescuing them from potential euthanasia and providing opportunity for these animals to be reunited with family, while also creating room for more local pets to be rescued. “The devastation there is staggering. Shelters are overwhelmed, families are still searching for their beloved pets, and supplies are running dangerously low,” the organization reported in a live Facebook post.^5,6
• Lindale Veterinary Clinic has been collecting a variety of animal care supplies intended for displaced pets in the affected region. These items include food, crates, blankets, tarps, towels and small bales of hay. The clinic’s Raul Johnson, DVM, is delivering the supplied and joining a team of veterinarians to provide care to animals on site. “As these flood waters recede, they are expecting a large influx of animals in 3 to 4 days’ time that may need lifesaving care for potential injuries, ” Johnson told KLTV on Tuesday, July 7, 2025.⁷

Identifying signs of distress

In the event of flooding, there are health concerns with standing water, contaminated flood waters and wet feed, according to the TAHC. Animals should be monitored for chemical burns, dermatitis or hair loss that may be caused by toxic substances in flood waters. Furthermore, foot or hoof health issues may occur with livestock standing in water for an extended period of time, and animals may need booster vaccinations to prevent disease such as distemper, parvovirus, and hepatitis as well as mosquito-borne diseases in horses.¹

The TAHC also notes that stress or disorientation in animals may be caused by environmental changes following a flooding situation. As a result, animals may express unusual aggression and should be approached with caution. The public is encouraged to contact a primary care veterinarian for assistance if condition is suspected of being caused by flooding.¹

RELATED: Tips to help prepare clients and the veterinary team for a disaster situation

References

1. Natural disaster: Animal preparation and response. Texas Animal Health Commission. Accessed July 8, 2025. https://www.tahc.texas.gov/emergency/naturaldisaster.html#fl
2. Bennett M. Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team deploys to Kerr County in response to central Texas flooding. Texas A&M University Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. July 7, 2025. Accessed July 8, 2025. https://vetmed.tamu.edu/news/press-releases/texas-am-vet-deploys-kerr-county/
3. Austin Pets Alive! Facebook. July 8, 2025. Accessed July 9, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1An5DAvSVK/
4. Helping our neighbors affected by devastating floods. Austin Pets Alive! July 8, 2025. Accessed July 9, 2025. https://www.austinpetsalive.org/blog/helping-our-neighbors-affected-by-devastating-floods-in-kerr-county
5. Wings of Rescue Facebook. July 7, 2025. Accessed July 9, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/WingsofRescue/
6. Wings of Rescue. Facebook July 8,2025. Accessed July 9, 2025. https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1EswbqdQrc/
7. Burns E. Lindale Veterinary Clinic collecting donations for displaced pets in hill country flood. KLTV. July 7, 2025. Accessed July 8, 2025. https://www.kltv.com/2025/07/08/lindale-veterinary-clinic-collecting-donations-displaced-pets-hill-country-floods/